Method and system for lifecycle management of application services at edge network

ABSTRACT

A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium are described in which a lifecycle management service is provided. A network device of an application service network may use the number of requests from end devices as a basis to determine whether to terminate a virtual network device. The network device may compare the number of requests to management information that includes a threshold number of requests value. The network device may also instantiate a virtual network device based on receipt of a domain name system request and radio network information.

BACKGROUND

Development and design of networks present certain challenges from anetwork-side perspective and an end device perspective. In order toenhance performance, multi-access edge computing (MEC) (also known asmobile edge computing (MEC)) is being explored in which core networkcapabilities (e.g., computational, storage, communication links, etc.)are situated at the network edge in order to reduce traffic being sentto the core network and reduce latency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment in which anexemplary embodiment of a lifecycle management service may beimplemented;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary MEC network that may beused in support of the lifecycle management service;

FIGS. 3A-3D are diagrams illustrating an exemplary process of anexemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating exemplary information of an exemplaryembodiment of the lifecycle management service;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another exemplary MEC network that maybe used in support of the lifecycle management service;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating another exemplary process ofan exemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating exemplary information of anotherexemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating yet another exemplary MEC network thatmay be used in support of the lifecycle management service;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating yet another exemplary processof an exemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of a device thatmay correspond to one or more of the devices illustrated and describedherein;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process of anexemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service; and

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary process of anexemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does notlimit the invention.

MEC networks or other types of end device application or service layernetworks (referred to as “application service layer network”) may notalways have sufficient available resources to accommodate all enddevices at all times. For example, the MEC network may have insufficientresources (e.g., physical, logical, virtual) due to the number of enddevices/users being served, the number of applications runningsimultaneously, the amount of content data involved in relation to theapplications (e.g., 3D extreme reality, etc.), the state of the MECnetwork (e.g., in the process of being deployed, reconfigured, upgraded;failures, congestion, etc.), and/or the state of neighboring MECnetworks (e.g., failures, congestion, etc.). As a result, the MECnetwork or other types of application service layer networks may beunable to support a level of quality of service associated with anapplication and/or a service (referred to as an “application service”).For example, the delivery of an application service to an end device maysuffer from degradation of various performance metrics, such as latency,error rate, throughput, packet loss, etc. Additionally, some users of anapplication service may be denied service, and other users mayexperience intermittent application service.

MEC networks and other types of application service layer networks mayuse a virtualization technology for provisioning of an applicationservice. For example, the virtualization of a network device may beimplemented based on a virtual container or a virtual machine (VM)(referred to as a “virtual network device”) along with othervirtualization technology/architecture, such as a hypervisor, acontainer engine, and underlying hardware resources of the networkdevice (e.g., a host device). The virtualization technology and/orarchitecture support the creation, deletion, and intermediaryoperational state (also known as the “lifecycle”) of the virtual networkdevice and instance of the application service. The network device mayinclude one or multiple instances of the virtual network device (andassociated one or multiple instances of the application service, whichmay be the same or different application services) and the configurationmay differ depending on the virtualization technology/architectureimplemented.

Typically, however, the MEC network is configured to maintain a minimumnumber of virtual network devices and/or application instances insupport of any given application service. For example, the MEC networkmay be configured to sustain and keep active a virtual network deviceand an application service even when there is no end device demand forthe application service. This can lead to unnecessary use of networkresources of the network device and MEC network, which are costly,particularly when end device demand for the application service does notwarrant such a configuration. Additionally, the instantiation andtermination of virtual network devices are managed manually by a networkadministrator or other network personnel. The manual procedures involvedtypically are executed slowly and lend themselves to erroneous entry.

According to exemplary embodiments, a lifecycle management service isdescribed. According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecyclemanagement service may be implemented by a MEC network. According toother exemplary embodiments, the lifecycle management service may beimplemented by another type of application service layer network. Forexample, the application service layer network may include the Internet,the World Wide Web (WWW), an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem(IMS) network, a Rich Communication Service (RCS) network, a cloudnetwork, a packet-switched network, a data center, a private network, afog network, or another type of network that hosts an end deviceapplication service on a virtual network device, as described herein.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle management servicemanages the lifecycle of a virtual network device and associatedapplication service. For example, the lifecycle includes theinstantiation or start-up of the virtual network device and associatedapplication service, an operational state subsequent to instantiationbut before termination of the virtual network device and associatedapplication service (e.g., active, under maintenance, refreshing,paused, suspended, rebooting, or another type of state or status), andthe termination of the virtual network device and associated applicationservice.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle management serviceobtains and uses lifecycle management information to determine andmanage the operational state of the virtual network device. According toan exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle management information includesusage data pertaining to the application service. For example, the usagedata may indicate the number of requests (e.g., by end devices/users)for the application service. According to an exemplary embodiment, thelifecycle management service may delete or terminate a virtual networkdevice when the number of requests does not satisfy a threshold usagevalue.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle managementinformation includes other types of data. For example, the lifecyclemanagement information may include data pertaining to network resourceusage (e.g., physical, virtual, and/or logical resources), security,health, load balancing, quality of service (QoS) (e.g., Key PerformanceIndicator (KPI), throughput, latency, packet loss, etc.) of the virtualnetwork device, and/or other types of data pertaining to the managementof a virtual network device, a component of the virtual network device(e.g., an application/software, an operating system of a VM, etc.), anetwork device, an application service layer network, a policy, a rule,or other network element that supports the provisioning of theapplication service, as described herein. According to an exemplaryembodiment, the lifecycle management service may use one or moreinstances of these other types of lifecycle management information todetermine and manage the operational state of the virtual networkdevice, a network device, and an application service layer network, asdescribed herein.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle management servicemay automatically instantiate or startup a virtual network device basedon the receipt of a domain name service (DNS) request.

In view of the foregoing, the lifecycle management service may preventor minimize unnecessary use of costly network resources in a MEC networkor another type of application service layer network, while stillsatisfying end device demands for the application service. Additionally,in contrast to existing approaches, the lifecycle management service maymanage the instantiation and termination of an application serviceautomatically versus manually (e.g., by a network administrator or otherpersonnel).

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment 100 in whichan exemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service may beimplemented. As illustrated, environment 100 includes access networks105-1 through 105-Z (referred to collectively as access networks 105,and individually or generally as access network 105), MEC network 115-1through 115-1+R+S+T+U+V (referred collectively as MEC networks 115, andindividually or generally as MEC network 115), a core network 120, andan external network 125. Access network 105 includes access devices 107.MEC network 115 includes MEC devices 117. Core network 120 includes coredevices 122. External network 125 includes external devices 127.Environment 100 further includes end devices 180-1 through 180-W(referred to collectively as end devices 180, and individually orgenerally as end device 180).

The number, the type, and the arrangement of network devices, and thenumber of end devices 180 are exemplary. A network device, a networkelement, or a network function (referred to herein simply as a networkdevice) may be implemented according to one or multiple networkarchitectures, such as a client device, a server device, a peer device,a proxy device, a cloud device, a virtualized network device.Additionally, a network device may be implemented according to variouscomputing architectures, such as centralized, distributed, cloud (e.g.,elastic, public, private, etc.), edge, fog, and/or another type ofcomputing architecture, and may be incorporated into various types ofnetwork architecture (e.g., Software Defined Networking (SDN), virtual,logical, network slice, etc.).

According to other exemplary embodiments, environment 100 may includeadditional networks, fewer networks, and/or different networks thanthose illustrated and described herein. For example, environment 100 maynot include external network 125. Additionally, or alternatively,environment 100 may include a fog network, a backhaul network, afronthaul network, and/or another type of network not specificallymentioned herein. Additionally, or alternatively, although MEC network115 is described as providing the lifecycle management service,according to other exemplary embodiments, other types of applicationservice layer networks (e.g., the Internet, an IMS network, a publicnetwork, a fog network, an RCS network, etc.) may be implemented toinclude the lifecycle management service, as described herein.

Environment 100 includes communication links between the networks,between the network devices, and between end devices 180 and thenetwork/network devices. Environment 100 may be implemented to includewired, optical, and/or wireless communication links among the networkdevices and the networks illustrated. A communicative connection via acommunication link may be direct or indirect. For example, an indirectcommunicative connection may involve an intermediary device and/or anintermediary network not illustrated in FIG. 1. A direct communicativeconnection may not involve an intermediary device and/or an intermediarynetwork. The number and the arrangement of communication linksillustrated in environment 100 are exemplary.

Environment 100 may include various planes of communication including,for example, a control plane, a user plane, and a network managementplane. Environment 100 may include other types of planes ofcommunication. A message communicated in support of the lifecyclemanagement service may use at least one of these planes ofcommunication. Additionally, an interface of a network device may bemodified (e.g., relative to an interface defined by a standards body,such as Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU), European Telecommunications StandardsInstitute (ETSI), etc.) in order to support the communication (e.g.,transmission and reception of messages, information elements (IE),attribute value pairs (AVPs), etc.) between network devices and thelifecycle management service, as described herein. According to variousexemplary implementations, the interface may be a service-basedinterface or a reference point-based interface.

Access network 105 may include one or multiple networks of one ormultiple types and technologies. For example, access network 105 may beimplemented to include a Fourth Generation (4G) radio access network(RAN) (e.g., an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a 4.5G RAN (e.g., an E-UTRAN ofan LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network), an RAN of an LTE-A Pro network, a nextgeneration RAN (e.g., a Fifth Generation (5G)-access network (5G-AN) ora 5G-RAN (referred to herein as simply a 5G-RAN)), and/or another typeof future generation RAN. Access network 105 may include other types ofRANs (e.g., a Third Generation (3G) RAN, a 3.5G RAN, a U-TRAN, aUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAN, a Global Systemfor Mobile Communications (GSM) RAN, a GSM EDGE RAN (GERAN), a CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA) RAN, a Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) RAN, anUltra Mobile Broadband (UMB) RAN, a High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) RAN,and/or an Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) RAN).

Access network 105 may communicate with other types of access networks,such as, for example, a WiFi network, a Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX) network, a local area network (LAN), a CitizensBroadband Radio System (CBRS) network, a cloud RAN, a wired network(e.g., optical, cable, coaxial, copper, etc.), or another type ofnetwork that provides access to or can be used as an on-ramp to accessnetwork 105, MEC network 115, and/or core network 120.

Access network 105 may include different and multiple functionalsplitting, such as options 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 that relate to thesplitting of the physical layer, Media Access Control (MAC), Radio LinkControl (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Control (PDCP), planesplitting (e.g., user plane, control plane, etc.), centralized unit (CU)and distributed unit (DU), interface splitting (e.g., F1-U, F1-C, E1,Xn-C, Xn-U, X2-C, Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), etc.) as well asother types of network services, such as dual connectivity (DC) orhigher (e.g., a secondary cell group (SCG) split bearer service, amaster cell group (MCG) split bearer, an SCG bearer service,non-standalone (NSA), standalone (SA), etc.), carrier aggregation (CA),network slicing, coordinated multipoint (CoMP), and/or another type ofconnectivity service.

According to various exemplary embodiments, access network 105 may beimplemented to include various architectures of wireless service, suchas, for example, macrocell, microcell, femtocell, picocell, metrocell,new radio (NR) cell, LTE cell, non-cell, or another type of cellarchitecture. Additionally, according to various exemplary embodiments,access network 105 may be implemented according to various wirelesstechnologies (e.g., radio access technology (RAT), etc.), wirelessstandards, wireless frequencies/bands, and different segments of radiospectrum (e.g., centimeter (cm) wave, millimeter (mm) wave, below 6Gigahertz (GHz), above 6 GHz, licensed radio spectrum, unlicensed radiospectrum, carrier frequency, etc.).

Depending on the implementation, access network 105 may include one ormultiple types of network devices that are illustrated in FIG. 1 asaccess devices 107. For example, access devices 107 may be implementedto include an evolved Node B (eNB), an eLTE eNB, a next generation NodeB (gNB), a base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, a remote radio head (RRH), an RRH and a baseband unit (BBU), a BBU, aradio network controller (RNC), a small cell node (e.g., a picocelldevice, a femtocell device, a microcell device, a home eNB, a repeater,etc.), or another type of network device that provides a wireless accessservice.

MEC network 115 includes a platform that provides an applicationservice. As illustrated, MEC network 115 may be located at an edge of anetwork, such as access network 105, or co-located with various types ofnetwork, such as core network 120 or external network 125.Alternatively, MEC network 115 may not be co-located. MEC network 115may be implemented using one or multiple technologies including, forexample, network function virtualization (NFV), containers, SDN, cloudcomputing, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service(PaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), or another type of networktechnology.

Depending on the implementation, MEC network 115 may include varioustypes of network devices that are illustrated in FIG. 1 as MEC devices117. For example, MEC devices 117 may include virtual network devices(e.g., virtualized network functions (VNFs), servers, hosts, containers,hypervisors, virtual machines, network function virtualizationinfrastructure (NFVI), and/or other types of virtualization elements,layers, hardware resources, operating systems, engines, etc.) andassociated applications services for use by end devices 180. Theapplication services may pertain to broadband services in dense areas(e.g., pervasive video, smart office, operator cloud services,video/photo sharing, etc.), broadband access everywhere (e.g., 50/100Mbps, ultra low-cost network, etc.), higher user mobility (e.g., highspeed train, remote computing, moving hot spots, etc.), Internet ofThings (IoTs) (e.g., smart wearables, sensors, mobile videosurveillance, smart cities, connected home, etc.), extreme real-timecommunications (e.g., tactile Internet, augmented reality (AR), virtualreality (VR), etc.), lifeline communications (e.g., natural disaster,emergency response, etc.), ultra-reliable communications (e.g.,automated traffic control and driving, collaborative robots,health-related services (e.g., monitoring, remote surgery, etc.), dronedelivery, public safety, etc.), broadcast-like services, and/or othertypes of mobile edge application services.

Additionally, depending on the implementation, MEC devices 117 mayinclude other types of network devices, such as an orchestrator (e.g., anetwork function virtualization orchestrator (NFVO), a mobile edge (ME)orchestrator, etc.), a virtualized infrastructure manager (VIM), avirtual network function manager (VNFM), an ME platform manager, anoperations support system (OSS), a local domain name system (DNS),registries, and/or other types of network devices (e.g., routers, coredevices 122, an ingress device, a load balancer, etc.), and networkresources (e.g., storage devices, communication links, etc.).

According to an exemplary embodiment, MEC devices 117 of MEC network 115include logic that provides a lifecycle management service, as describedherein. For example, the lifecycle management service obtains and useslifecycle management information to determine and manage the operationalstate of the virtual network device and associated application service.According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle managementinformation includes usage data of the application service that mayindicate the number of requests (e.g., by end devices/users) for theapplication service. According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecyclemanagement service may create or delete one or multiple virtual networkdevices depending on the usage data and comparison with a thresholdusage value.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle managementservice may use other types of life cycle management data pertaining tonetwork resource usage, security, health, load balancing, QoS, and/orother types of data pertaining to the management of one or multiplevirtual network devices, MEC device 117, MEC network 115, a policy, arule, or other network element that supports the provisioning of theapplication service, as described herein.

Core network 120 may include one or multiple networks of one or multiplenetwork types and technologies. Core network 120 may include acomplementary network of access network 105. For example, core network120 may be implemented to include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) of anLTE, an LTE-A, an LTE-A Pro, a next generation core (NGC) network, alegacy core network, and/or a future generation core network.

Depending on the implementation of core network 120, core network 120may include various types of network devices that are illustrated inFIG. 1 as core devices 122. For example, core devices 122 may include amobility management entity (MME), a packet gateway (PGW), a servinggateway (SGW), a home subscriber server (HSS), an authentication,authorization, and accounting (AAA) server, a policy charging and rulesfunction (PCRF), a charging system (CS), a user plane function (UPF), anaccess and mobility management function (AMF), a session managementfunction (SMF), a unified data management (UDM) device, anauthentication server function (AUSF), a network slice selectionfunction (NSSF), a network repository function (NRF), a policy controlfunction (PCF), and so forth. According to other exemplaryimplementations, core network 120 may include additional, different,and/or fewer network devices than those described.

External network 125 may include one or multiple networks of one ormultiple network types and technologies. For example, external network125 may be implemented to include a service or an application-layernetwork, the Internet, the WWW, an IMS network, an RCS network, a cloudnetwork, a packet-switched network, a data center, a private network, orother type of network that hosts an end device application service.

Depending on the implementation of external network 125, externalnetwork 125 may include various network devices depicted in FIG. 1 asnetwork devices 127. For example, network devices 127 may providevarious applications, services, or another type of end device asset,such as a server (e.g., web, application, cloud, etc.), mass storagedevice, data center devices, routers, and/or other types of networkdevices pertaining to various network-related functions.

End device 180 includes a device that has computational and wirelesscommunication capabilities. End device 180 may be implemented as amobile device, a portable device, a stationary device (e.g., anon-mobile device), a device operated by a user, or a device notoperated by a user. For example, end device 180 may be implemented as amobile broadband device, a smartphone, a computer, a tablet, a netbook,a phablet, a wearable device, a vehicle support system, a drone, or someother type of mobile wireless device. According to various exemplaryembodiments, end device 180 may be configured to execute various typesof software (e.g., applications, programs, etc.). The number and thetypes of software may vary among end devices 180. End device 180 maysupport one or multiple RATs (e.g., 4G, 5G, etc.), one or multiplefrequency bands, network slicing, DC service, and so forth.Additionally, end device 180 may include one or multiple communicationinterfaces that provide one or multiple (e.g., simultaneous ornon-simultaneous) connections via the same or different RATs, frequencybands, access devices 107, and so forth.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of MEC devices117 of a MEC network 115 that provides the lifecycle management service.As illustrated, MEC network 115 may include an orchestrator 202, acontroller 204, an ingress device 206, and hosts 210-1 through 210-W(also referred to as hosts 210, and individually or generally as host210). Hosts 210 may include virtual network devices 215-1 through 215-X(also referred to as virtual network devices 215, and individually orgenerally as virtual network device 215). Virtual network devices 215(VNDs 215) may include applications (App) 217-1 through 217-X (alsoreferred to as applications 217, and individually or generally asapplication 217). Host 210 may support one or multiple VNDs 215 andapplications 217 that provide application services and/or microservices(e.g., a task, a function, etc.) of the application service (alsoreferred to as an application service), as described herein. The number,the type, and the arrangement of MEC devices 117 are exemplary. Thenumber and the arrangement of communication links illustrated are alsoexemplary. MEC network 115 may include additional and/or different MECdevices 117 in other exemplary embodiments. For example, MEC devices 117may include additional and/or different system or management level MECdevices 117 that are not illustrated and described for the sake ofbrevity.

Orchestrator 202 includes logic that manages the lifecycle of VNDs 215.According to an exemplary embodiment, orchestrator 202 may determinewhether a VND 215 is instantiated, terminated, or is in another statebased on usage data of an application service or a microservice, asdescribed herein. Orchestrator 202 may include logic that performs othertypes of operations, such as management of applicationservice/microservice rules and requirements, resource management, and/orother system level management functions pertaining to MEC network 115.

Controller 204 includes logic that uses lifecycle management informationas a basis to determine whether a VND 215 should be created orterminated. According to an exemplary embodiment, controller 204 maystore a threshold usage value and compare the number of requests for anapplication service of VND 215. Based on a result of the comparison,controller 204 may determine the state of one or multiple VNDs 215, asdescribed herein. Controller 204 may include logic that generates andtransmits a message, which indicates the result of the comparison, toorchestrator 202. Controller 204 may include logic that receives aresponse to the message from orchestrator 202, and carries out theinstructions from orchestrator 202.

Ingress 206 may include logic that receives requests for applicationservices from end devices 180 and notifies orchestrator 202 of suchrequests. Ingress 206 may include logic that performs other types ofoperations, such as authentication and authorization and/or other systemlevel management functions.

Hosts 210 may include network devices that support the virtualization ofapplication services. Host 210 provides various physical resources(e.g., processors, memory, storage, communication interface, etc.),software resources (e.g., operating system, etc.) and othervirtualization elements (e.g., hypervisor, container engine, etc.). VNDs215 may be implemented as containers, VMs, or another type ofvirtualization architecture that provides one or multiple applicationservices for end devices 180. Application 217 may include software foran application service. Applications 217 may include one or multipleinstances of the same or different application services.

FIGS. 3A-3D are diagrams illustrating an exemplary process of thelifecycle management service. For example, the process relates to anautomated termination of an application service or a microservice, asdescribed herein. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3A, assume that one ormultiple end devices 180 transmit one or multiple application servicerequests 303 to ingress device 206 of MEC network 115 via access network105. According to an exemplary scenario, assume that the applicationservice request(s) 303 pertain to the same application service ormicroservice. According to other exemplary scenarios, when there aremultiple application service requests 303, such requests may pertain tothe same or different application services or microservices. Ingressdevice 206 may receive application service request(s) 303 and forwardthe application service request(s) 303 to orchestrator 202, and in turn,orchestrator 202 may provide the application service request(s) 303 tocontroller 204. Alternatively, according to another exemplary scenario,although not illustrated, orchestrator 202 may not receive theapplication service request(s) 303, and ingress device 206 may send theapplication service request(s) 303 to controller 204.

Referring to FIG. 3B, in response to receiving the application servicerequest(s) 303, controller 204 may compare the number of requests to athreshold value 305. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment,controller 204 may store lifecycle management information. Controller204 may use the lifecycle management information to provide a lifecyclemanagement service, as described herein. An exemplary embodiment of thelifecycle management information is described further below.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of exemplary lifecycle management information thatmay be stored in a table 400. As illustrated, table 400 may include anapplication service field 405, a number of requests field 410, athreshold value field 415, and a number of VNDs field 420. As furtherillustrated, table 400 includes records 401-1 through 401-X (alsoreferred to as records 401, or individually or generally as record 401)that each includes a grouping of fields 405, 410, 415, and 420.Lifecycle management information is illustrated in tabular form merelyfor the sake of description. In this regard, lifecycle managementinformation may be implemented in a data structure different from atable.

Application service field 405 may store data indicating an applicationservice or a microservice. Number of requests field 410 may store dataindicating the number of requests for the application service or themicroservice. According to an exemplary implementation, the number ofrequests may indicate the number of new or incoming requests receivedduring a configured time window. According to another exemplaryimplementation, the number of requests may indicate the number of newrequests and currently executing requests by VNDs 215, hosts 210, etc.,during a configured time window. Threshold value field 415 may storedata indicating a threshold number of requests for the applicationservice or the microservice. Number of VNDs field 420 may store dataindicating the number of VNDs configured to support a numerical range ofrequests for the application service or the microservice, which includesthe threshold value of requests.

According to other exemplary implementations, table 400 may storeadditional, fewer, and/or different instances of lifecycle managementinformation in support of the lifecycle management service, as describedherein.

Referring back to FIG. 3B, controller 204 may select the appropriatethreshold value field 415 in table 400 based on the correlated fields405, 410, and 420. For example, controller 204 may determine theapplication service or the microservice requested and the number ofrequests based on application service request(s) 303 or applicationservice request(s) 303 and previously received application servicerequest(s) (not illustrated). Additionally, or alternatively, controller204 may determine the application service or the microservice based onan absence of application service request(s) 303 or previously receivedor the absence thereof of previously received application servicerequest(s).

Controller 204 may select the number of VNDs 215 that support thethreshold value of requests based on the currently active VNDs 215 thatsupport the application service or the microservice. For example, theremay be different threshold values depending on the number of currentlyactive VNDs 215 and correlated application service or microservice.

Controller 204 may determine the state for one or multiple VNDs 215based on the result of the comparison 307. For example, controller 204may determine whether additional VNDs 215, fewer VNDs 215, or the samenumber of VNDs 215 may be used to support the new requests from the oneor multiple end devices 180. According to this exemplary scenario,assume that controller 204 determines that for at least one applicationservice or microservice, the state for VNDs 215 should change.

Referring to FIG. 3C, controller 204 may generate and transmit a staterequest 311 to orchestrator 202. The state request 311 may include dataindicating that a threshold value is not satisfied (e.g., not asufficient number of VNDs 215 or excess number of VNDs 215). Accordingto this exemplary scenario, state request 311 may indicate that thethreshold value is not satisfied based on an excess number of VNDs 215.In response to receiving state request 311, orchestrator 202 maydetermine a state for one or multiple VNDs 215 that provide anapplication service or a microservice based on the received staterequest 315 and system level information that orchestrator 202 may storeor access. According to this exemplary scenario, orchestrator 202 mayverify and instruct controller 204 to reduce the number of VNDs 215 thatsupport an application service or a microservice. According to someexemplary scenarios, the reduction may include terminating any and allVNDs 215 that provide the application service or the microservice.According to other exemplary scenarios, the reduction may include fewerthan all VNDs 215 that provide the application service or themicroservice. As further illustrated, orchestrator 202 may generate andtransmit a state response 319 to controller 204.

Referring to FIG. 3D, controller 204 may manage the VND lifecycle forthe application service or the microservice based on the receivedresponse 321. For example, controller 204 may select host(s) 210 andVND(s) 215 that are targeted for termination. Controller 204 maygenerate and transmit a state request 325 to those targeted host(s) 210,and in response to receiving state request 325, host 210 may terminatethe appropriate VND 328. As further illustrated, host 210 may generateand transmit a state response 328 to controller 204. State response 328may indicate the termination of VND 215 and associated applicationservice or microservice. Controller 204 may store this information andmay also forward state response 328 to orchestrator 202.

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate an exemplary process of the lifecycle managementservice, according to other exemplary embodiments, the process mayinclude additional, different, and/or fewer steps. For example,controller 204 may perform various operations, as described herein, notin response to receiving application service requests, but continuously,periodically, or in response to another type of triggering event. Inthis regard, controller 204 may identify a triggering event and comparethe number of requests to the lifecycle management information inresponse to the triggering event.

As previously described, the lifecycle management service may use othertypes of lifecycle management information to terminate an applicationservice or a microservice. Exemplary instances of the other types oflifecycle management information are described herein.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another exemplary embodiment of MECdevices 117 of a MEC network 115 that provides the lifecycle managementservice. As illustrated, MEC network 115 may include orchestrator 202,controller 204, ingress device 206, and hosts 210, which have beenpreviously described. Additionally, MEC network 115 may include othertypes of MEC devices 117, such as a load balancer 505, a monitoringdevice 510, and a performance analyzer 515. The number, the type, andthe arrangement of MEC devices 117 are exemplary. The number and thearrangement of communication links illustrated are also exemplary. MECnetwork 115 may include additional and/or different MEC devices 117 inother exemplary embodiments. For example, MEC devices 117 may includeadditional and/or different system or management level MEC devices 117that are not illustrated and described for the sake of brevity. Alsoillustrated in FIG. 5, although not part of MEC 115, isaccess/core/networks 520, which corresponds to access network 105, corenetwork 120, and/or external network 125.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle management servicemay provide that load balancer 505, monitoring device 510, and/orperformance analyzer 515 provide lifecycle management information tocontroller 204. Controller 204 may use this lifecycle managementinformation as a basis to determine whether to terminate VND 215 andassociated application service or microservice.

Load balancer 505 may include logic that distributes traffic amongcontrollers 204 and associated hosts 210 and VNDs 215. Load balancer 505may also include logic that provides DNS load balancing. Load balancer505 may collect lifecycle management information from controllers 204,DNS servers (not illustrated), and/or other types of MEC devices 117(e.g., hosts 210, etc.). For example, the lifecycle managementinformation may indicate utilization of each controller 204 andassociated hosts 210 according to locale, application service, serverpools, and/or other criteria. Also, for example, the lifecyclemanagement information may indicate utilization of domains in the DNS.

Monitoring device 510 may include logic that monitors security and/orhealth of controllers 204, hosts 210, and/or VNDs 215. Monitoring device510 may collect lifecycle management information from controllers 204,hosts 210, and/or VNDs 215 that pertains to the security and/or healthof these MEC devices 117. For example, the lifecycle managementinformation may indicate the presence or absence of viruses, malware,etc., and security related information (e.g., data loss, data integrity,authentication, authorization, kernel exploit, container breakouts,denial-of-service, etc.).

Performance analyzer 515 may include logic that monitors performancemetrics pertaining to network resources. For example, performanceanalyzer 515 may monitor usage of network resources (e.g., physical,logical, virtual) at host 210 and/or controller 204, such as a processor(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU),a neural processing unit (NPU), etc.), a memory (e.g., a read onlymemory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a solid state memory, etc.),a storage device (e.g., a hard drive, a non-volatile storage component,etc.), and/or a communication interface (e.g., a transmitter, areceiver, a buffer, a port, etc.). The physical resources may furtherinclude other types of network resources that are external to a MECdevice 117 (e.g., host 210, controller 204, etc.), such as communicationlinks between hosts 210, between other networks (e.g.,access/core/external networks 520), between hosts 210 and end device180, or other communication links and/or network devices that supportthe provisioning of the application service or the microservice. Thelogical resources may be a partition of a physical resource dedicated toor allocated to host 210 or shared between hosts 210. The virtualresources may be an abstraction of physical and/or logical resources.Performance analyzer 515 may use various techniques, such as polling orusing interrupts to obtain lifecycle management information. Accordingto an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle management service maycalculate a resource usage value (e.g., used resources/available, apercentage (e.g., 50%, etc.), etc.) pertaining to the resource based onthe monitoring.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle management serviceincludes dynamically processing the application service based on acurrent resource usage and one or multiple criteria. According tovarious exemplary embodiments, the one or multiple criteria include apriority associated with the application service relative to otherapplication services, a priority or an importance associated withcontent and/or information of the application service relative to othercontent and/or information of the application service, a subscriptionlevel or service tier of a user or the end device to which theapplication service is being provided, and/or a performance metricindicator (e.g., Quality of Experience (QoE) Score, a Mean Opinion Score(MOS) associated with users and/or application services, a KeyPerformance Indicator (KPI)).

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating another exemplary process ofthe lifecycle management service. For example, the process relates to anautomated termination of an application service or a microservice, asdescribed herein. Referring to FIG. 6A, in a manner similar to thatpreviously described in relation to FIG. 3A, controller 204 may receiveapplication service request 303 and other types of data, such asmonitoring data 602, load balance data 604, and/or performance data 606.Referring to FIG. 6B, in response to receiving the application servicerequest(s) 303 and other data, controller 204 may compare the number ofrequests and other data to threshold values or other criteria 609. Forexample, according to an exemplary embodiment, controller 204 may storelifecycle management information. Controller 204 may use the lifecyclemanagement information to provide a lifecycle management service, asdescribed herein. An exemplary embodiment of the lifecycle managementinformation is described further below.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of exemplary lifecycle management information thatmay be stored in a table 700. As illustrated, table 700 may include anapplication service field 705, a number of requests field 710, arequests threshold field 715, a number of VNDs field 720, a load balancethreshold field 725, a health/security field 730, and a performancethreshold field 735. As further illustrated, table 700 includes records701-1 through 701-X (also referred to as records 701, or individually orgenerally as record 701) that each includes a grouping of fields 705through 735. Lifecycle management information is illustrated in tabularform merely for the sake of description. In this regard, lifecyclemanagement information may be implemented in a data structure differentfrom a table.

Fields 705-720 may store data similar to the data previously describedin relation to fields 405-420 of FIG. 4. Load balance threshold field725 may store data indicating utilization and/or load threshold valuespertaining to hosts 210, controllers 204, and/or other types of MECdevices 117 or components thereof (e.g., VNDs 215, etc.) that providethe application service or the microservice. Health/security field 730may store rules or policies pertaining to the presence or absence ofhealth or security-related issues and MEC devices 117 (e.g., hosts 210,VNDs 215, etc.). Performance threshold field 735 may store dataindicating threshold values pertaining to performance metrics (e.g.,packet loss, throughput, bandwidth, latency, etc.) in relation tocommunication and application service/microservice performance.

Referring back to FIG. 6B, controller 204 may select the appropriatethreshold value field 715 in table 700 based on the correlated fields705, 710, and 720. Additionally, controller 204 may use one or more offields 725, 730, and 735 that correlate to those fields 705, 710, and720. Controller 204 may determine the state for one or multiple VNDs 215based on the result of the comparison 307. For example, controller 204may determine whether additional VNDs 215, fewer VNDs 215, or the samenumber of VNDs 215 may be used to support requests from the one ormultiple end devices 180. According to this exemplary scenario, assumethat controller 204 determines that for at least one application serviceor microservice, the state for VNDs 215 should change (e.g., an excessnumber of VNDs 215). In a manner similar to that previously described inrelation to FIGS. 3C and 3D, controller 204 may terminate VNDs 215.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate another exemplary process of the lifecyclemanagement service, according to other exemplary embodiments, theprocess may include additional, different, and/or fewer steps. Forexample, controller 204 may perform various operations, as describedherein, not in response to receiving application service requests, butcontinuously, periodically, or in response to another type of triggeringevent.

As previously described, the lifecycle management service may providefor the instantiation or start-up of an application service or amicroservice based on received DNS requests. In contrast to existingapproaches that require a manual start-up, the lifecycle managementservice may perform the instantiation as an automated process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating yet another exemplary embodiment of MECdevices 117 of a MEC network 115 that provides the lifecycle managementservice. As illustrated, MEC network 115 may include orchestrator 202,controller 204, and hosts 210, which have been previously described.Additionally, MEC network 115 may include other types of MEC devices117, such as a DNS 802. DNS 802 may include logic that provides DNSresolution services for application services and/or microservicesprovided by MEC network 115.

The number, the type, and the arrangement of MEC devices 117 areexemplary. The number and the arrangement of communication linksillustrated are also exemplary. MEC network 115 may include additionaland/or different MEC devices 117 in other exemplary embodiments. Forexample, MEC devices 117 may include additional and/or different systemor management level MEC devices 117 that are not illustrated anddescribed for the sake of brevity.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating still another exemplaryprocess of the lifecycle management service. For example, the processrelates to an automated instantiation of an application service or amicroservice, as described herein. Referring to FIG. 9A, according to anexemplary scenario, assume that end device 180 transmits a DNS request902 that is received via access/core/external networks 520.Access/core/external networks 520 may include a DNS (not illustrated),which may direct the DNS request 902 to DNS 802. DNS 802 may resolve theDNS request and provide a DNS response 904, which includes the DNSresolution, to end device 180. Additionally, in response to receivingDNS request 902, DNS 802 may transmit a request 906 to orchestrator 202.Request 906 may indicate an application service or a microservice thatis associated with the DNS request 902 (e.g., based on a domain name, aserver name, etc.). Request 906 may also indicate a network address(e.g., an Internet Protocol (IP) address, etc.) of end device 180 fromwhich DNS request 902 originated. Orchestrator 202 may store this enddevice information 910.

Referring to FIG. 9B, orchestrator 202 may obtain radio networkinformation (RNI) 912, relating to end device 180, from core network 120or access network 105. For example, orchestrator 202 may subscribe to aradio network information service (RNIS) and obtain the radio networkinformation from a network exposure function (NEF) (not illustrated) oranother type of core device 122 of core network 120, or access device107 of access network 105. The IP address of end device 180 may be usedin this process. The radio network information may include dataindicating the current serving radio cell of end device 180 and/or otherinformation pertaining to end device 180 (e.g., end device context,radio network conditions, radio access bearers, etc.). In response toobtaining the RNI, orchestrator 202 may select a suitable controller 204to instantiate the application service or the microservice 915 to beused to service end device 180 based on the location of end device 180and/or other RNI. As illustrated, orchestrator 202 may generate andtransmit a state request 917 to controller 204. State request 917 mayindicate the application service or the microservice to instantiate. Inresponse to receiving state request 917, controller 204 may invoke aninstantiation procedure. The instantiation procedure may include usingpolicy and configuration rules 920 to select a host 210, generating astate request 924, and transmitting state request 924 to the selectedhost 210. Host 210 may instantiate the application service or themicroservice in response to receiving state request 924.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate another exemplary process of the lifecyclemanagement service, according to other exemplary embodiments, theprocess may include additional, different, and/or fewer steps. Forexample, orchestrator 202 may use service registry informationpertaining to applications/microservices in MEC network 115 to determinewhether to instantiate the application service or the microservice.Additionally, or alternatively, orchestrator 202 may use load balancinginformation to select controller 204.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of a device 1000that may be included in one or more of the devices described herein. Forexample, device 1000 may correspond to MEC device 117 of MEC network 115or other types of network devices of other types of networks, asdescribed herein. As illustrated in FIG. 10, device 1000 includes a bus1005, a processor 1010, a memory/storage 1015 that stores software 1020,a communication interface 1025, an input 1030, and an output 1035.According to other embodiments, device 1000 may include fewercomponents, additional components, different components, and/or adifferent arrangement of components than those illustrated in FIG. 10and described herein.

Bus 1005 includes a path that permits communication among the componentsof device 1000. For example, bus 1005 may include a system bus, anaddress bus, a data bus, and/or a control bus. Bus 1005 may also includebus drivers, bus arbiters, bus interfaces, clocks, and so forth.

Processor 1010 includes one or multiple processors, microprocessors,data processors, co-processors, graphics processing units (GPUs),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), controllers,programmable logic devices, chipsets, field-programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), application specific instruction-set processors (ASIPs),system-on-chips (SoCs), central processing units (CPUs) (e.g., one ormultiple cores), microcontrollers, and/or some other type of componentthat interprets and/or executes instructions and/or data. Processor 1010may be implemented as hardware (e.g., a microprocessor, etc.), acombination of hardware and software (e.g., a SoC, an ASIC, etc.), mayinclude one or multiple memories (e.g., cache, etc.), etc.

Processor 1010 may control the overall operation or a portion ofoperation(s) performed by device 1000. Processor 1010 may perform one ormultiple operations based on an operating system and/or variousapplications or computer programs (e.g., software 1020). Processor 1010may access instructions from memory/storage 1015, from other componentsof device 1000, and/or from a source external to device 1000 (e.g., anetwork, another device, etc.). Processor 1010 may perform an operationand/or a process based on various techniques including, for example,multithreading, parallel processing, pipelining, interleaving, etc.

Memory/storage 1015 includes one or multiple memories and/or one ormultiple other types of storage mediums. For example, memory/storage1015 may include one or multiple types of memories, such as, a randomaccess memory (RAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a staticrandom access memory (SRAM), a cache, a read only memory (ROM), aprogrammable read only memory (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), anelectrically EPROM (EEPROM), a single in-line memory module (SIMM), adual in-line memory module (DIMM), a flash memory (e.g., 2D, 3D, NOR,NAND, etc.), a solid state memory, and/or some other type of memory.Memory/storage 1015 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, anoptical disk, a magneto-optic disk, a solid state disk, etc.), aMicro-Electromechanical System (MEMS)-based storage medium, and/or ananotechnology-based storage medium. Memory/storage 1015 may includedrives for reading from and writing to the storage medium.

Memory/storage 1015 may be external to and/or removable from device1000, such as, for example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory stick, adongle, a hard disk, mass storage, off-line storage, or some other typeof storing medium (e.g., a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk(DVD), a Blu-Ray disk (BD), etc.). Memory/storage 1015 may store data,software, and/or instructions related to the operation of device 1000.

Software 1020 includes an application or a program that provides afunction and/or a process. As an example, with reference to MEC device117, software 1020 may include an application that, when executed byprocessor 1010, provides a function of the lifecycle management service,as described herein. Software 1020 may also include firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language (HDL), and/or otherform of instruction. Software 1020 may also be virtualized. Software1020 may further include an operating system (OS) (e.g., Windows, Linux,Android, proprietary, etc.).

Communication interface 1025 permits device 1000 to communicate withother devices, networks, systems, and/or the like. Communicationinterface 1025 includes one or multiple wireless interfaces and/or wiredinterfaces. For example, communication interface 1025 may include one ormultiple transmitters and receivers, or transceivers. Communicationinterface 1025 may operate according to a protocol stack and acommunication standard. Communication interface 1025 may include anantenna. Communication interface 1025 may include various processinglogic or circuitry (e.g., multiplexing/de-multiplexing, filtering,amplifying, converting, error correction, application programminginterface (API), etc.). Communication interface 1025 may be implementedas a point-to-point interface, a service based interface, etc.

Input 1030 permits an input into device 1000. For example, input 1030may include a keyboard, a mouse, a display, a touchscreen, a touchlessscreen, a button, a switch, an input port, speech recognition logic,and/or some other type of visual, auditory, tactile, etc., inputcomponent. Output 1035 permits an output from device 1000. For example,output 1035 may include a speaker, a display, a touchscreen, a touchlessscreen, a light, an output port, and/or some other type of visual,auditory, tactile, etc., output component.

As previously described, a network device may be implemented accordingto various computing architectures (e.g., in a cloud, etc.) andaccording to various network architectures (e.g., a virtualizedfunction, etc.). Device 1000 may be implemented in the same manner. Forexample, device 1000 may be instantiated, spun up, spun down,terminated, etc., using well-known virtualization techniques.

Device 1000 may perform a process and/or a function, as describedherein, in response to processor 1010 executing software 1020 stored bymemory/storage 1015. By way of example, instructions may be read intomemory/storage 1015 from another memory/storage 1015 (not shown) or readfrom another device (not shown) via communication interface 1025. Theinstructions stored by memory/storage 1015 cause processor 1010 toperform a process described herein. Alternatively, for example,according to other implementations, device 1000 performs a processdescribed herein based on the execution of hardware (processor 1010,etc.).

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process 1100 of anexemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service. According toan exemplary embodiment, MEC device 117 (e.g., controller 204, a VIM, anedge controller, or another type of MEC device 117 that may control ormanage edge servers, hosts, microservices, etc.) may perform, in wholeor in part, steps of process 1100. According to other exemplaryembodiments, other types of similarly functioning network devices of anapplication service layer network (e.g., an IMS, a fog network, an RCSnetwork, etc.) may perform, in whole or in part, the steps of process1100, as described herein. According to an exemplary implementation,processor 1010 executes software 1020 to perform a step illustrated inFIG. 11, and described herein. Alternatively, a step illustrated in FIG.11 and described herein, may be performed by execution of only hardware.Process 1100 may be performed as an automated process and may includethe termination a MEC application service or microservice.

Referring to FIG. 11, in block 1105, lifecycle management informationmay be stored. For example, MEC device 117 of MEC network 115 may storeor have access to another network device (e.g., a storage device) thatstores lifecycle management information, as described herein. Accordingto an exemplary embodiment, the lifecycle management informationincludes a threshold value pertaining to a number of application servicerequests.

In block, 1110, a triggering event may be identified. For example, MECdevice 117 may identify various types of triggering events, such as thereceipt of an application service request or the absence of anapplication service request from an end device over a configured timewindow. Alternatively, the triggering event may be the expiration of aperiodic time window.

In block 1115, the number of requests may be compared to the lifecyclemanagement information. For example, MEC device 117 may compare thenumber of MEC application service requests to the lifecycle managementinformation. The number of requests may be new requests or new requestsand currently executing requests by VNDs 215.

In block 1120, it may be determined whether the threshold value has beensatisfied. For example, MEC device 117 may determine whether thethreshold value of the lifecycle management information has beensatisfied based on the result of the comparison. When it is determinedthat the threshold value is satisfied (block 1120-YES), the MECapplication service or microservice may be provided (block 1125). Forexample, MEC device 117 may select host 210 and/or VND 215 to executethe MEC application service requests. When it is determined that thethreshold value is not satisfied (block 1120-NO), a VND that providesthe MEC application service or microservice may be terminated (block1130). For example, MEC device 117 may terminate one or multiple hosts210 and/or VNDs 215 that provide the MEC application service or themicroservice. As previously described, MEC device 117 may communicatewith orchestrator 202 before termination of hosts 210 and/or VNDs 215.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary process 1100 of the lifecyclemanagement service, however, according to other embodiments, process1100 may include additional operations, fewer operations, and/ordifferent operations than those illustrated in FIG. 11, and describedherein. For example, as previously described, process 1100 may include astep that includes MEC device 117 using other types of lifecyclemanagement information to determine whether to terminate host 210 and/orVND 215. For example, MEC device 117 may use load balancing information,monitoring information, and/or performance information, as previouslydescribed. This additional information may be used in combination withthe number of requests or not.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary process 1200 ofan exemplary embodiment of the lifecycle management service. Accordingto an exemplary embodiment, MEC device 117 (e.g., an orchestrator 202 oranother type of MEC device 117 that may provide similar functionality)may perform, in whole or in part, steps of process 1200. According toother exemplary embodiments, other types of similarly functioningnetwork devices of an application service layer network may perform, inwhole or in part, the steps of process 1200, as described herein.According to an exemplary implementation, processor 1010 executessoftware 1020 to perform a step illustrated in FIG. 12, and describedherein. Alternatively, a step illustrated in FIG. 12 and describedherein, may be performed by execution of only hardware. Process 1200 maybe performed as an automated process and may include the instantiationof a MEC application service or microservice.

In block 1205, a DNS request may be received from an end device. Forexample, MEC device 117 of MEC network 115 may receive a DNS requestfrom end device 180 via a MEC DNS.

In block 1210, radio network information of the end device may beobtained. For example, MEC device 117 may obtain radio networkinformation of end device 180 based on an RNIS.

In block 1215, a MEC application service or microservice may be selectedto instantiate based on the DNS request. For example, MEC device 117 maydetermine the MEC application service or microservice to be instantiatedbased on the DNS request.

In block 1220, a host for instantiating the MEC application service ormicroservice may be selected based on the radio network information. Forexample, MEC device 117 may select a host 210 to instantiate the MECapplication service or microservice based on location informationrelating to end device 180.

In block 1225, the MEC application service or microservice may beinstantiated. For example, MEC device 117 may instantiate the MECapplication service or microservice at the selected host 210. Aspreviously described, MEC device 117 may select a suitable controller204, and invoke an instantiation procedure.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary process 1200 of the lifecyclemanagement service, however, according to other embodiments, process1200 may include additional operations, fewer operations, and/ordifferent operations than those illustrated in FIG. 12, and describedherein. For example, MEC device 117 may use other information (e.g.,load balancing information, performance information, and/or monitoringinformation) for performing one or more of the steps (e.g., determiningwhether to instantiate, selecting a host, etc.), as described herein.

As set forth in this description and illustrated by the drawings,reference is made to “an exemplary embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“embodiments,” etc., which may include a particular feature, structureor characteristic in connection with an embodiment(s). However, the useof the phrase or term “an embodiment,” “embodiments,” etc., in variousplaces in the specification does not necessarily refer to allembodiments described, nor does it necessarily refer to the sameembodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarilymutually exclusive of other embodiment(s). The same applies to the term“implementation,” “implementations,” etc.

The foregoing description of embodiments provides illustration, but isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the preciseform disclosed. Accordingly, modifications to the embodiments describedherein may be possible. For example, various modifications and changesmay be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented,without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forthin the claims that follow. The description and drawings are accordinglyto be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to be interpreted to includeone or more items. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to beinterpreted as “based, at least in part, on,” unless explicitly statedotherwise. The term “and/or” is intended to be interpreted to includeany and all combinations of one or more of the associated items. Theword “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example.” Anyembodiment or implementation described as “exemplary” is not necessarilyto be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments orimplementations.

In addition, while series of blocks have been described with regard tothe processes illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the order of the blocksmay be modified according to other embodiments. Further, non-dependentblocks may be performed in parallel. Additionally, other processesdescribed in this description may be modified and/or non-dependentoperations may be performed in parallel.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented in many different formsof software executed by hardware. For example, a process or a functionmay be implemented as “logic,” a “component,” or an “element.” Thelogic, the component, or the element, may include, for example, hardware(e.g., processor 1010, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software(e.g., software 1020).

Embodiments have been described without reference to the specificsoftware code because the software code can be designed to implement theembodiments based on the description herein and commercially availablesoftware design environments and/or languages. For example, varioustypes of programming languages including, for example, a compiledlanguage, an interpreted language, a declarative language, or aprocedural language may be implemented.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in theclaims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, thetemporal order in which acts of a method are performed, the temporalorder in which instructions executed by a device are performed, etc.,but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having acertain name from another element having a same name (but for use of theordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

Additionally, embodiments described herein may be implemented as anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores data and/orinformation, such as instructions, program code, a data structure, aprogram module, an application, a script, or other known or conventionalform suitable for use in a computing environment. The program code,instructions, application, etc., is readable and executable by aprocessor (e.g., processor 1010) of a device. A non-transitory storagemedium includes one or more of the storage mediums described in relationto memory/storage 1015. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium may be implemented in a centralized, distributed, or logicaldivision that may include a single physical memory device or multiplephysical memory devices spread across one or multiple network devices.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store or employpersonal information of individuals, it should be understood that suchinformation shall be collected, stored, and used in accordance with allapplicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage and use of such information can besubject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as can be appropriatefor the situation and type of information. Collection, storage and useof personal information can be in an appropriately secure mannerreflective of the type of information, for example, through variousencryption and anonymization techniques for particularly sensitiveinformation.

No element, act, or instruction set forth in this description should beconstrued as critical or essential to the embodiments described hereinunless explicitly indicated as such.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects set forth in this disclosure that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Noclaim element of a claim is to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f)unless the claim element expressly includes the phrase “means for” or“step for.”

1. A method comprising: storing, by a network device of an applicationservice layer network, management information pertaining to a lifecyclefor at least one of an application service or a microservice;identifying, by the network device, a triggering event; comparing, bythe network device in response to the identifying, a number of requestsfrom end devices for the at least one of the application service or themicroservice to a threshold number of requests, wherein the managementinformation includes the threshold number of requests that pertain tonew requests received during a time window; determining, by the networkdevice based on the comparing, whether the threshold number of requestsis satisfied; and terminating, by the network device in response todetermining that the threshold number of requests is not satisfied, avirtual network device that provides the at least one of the applicationservice or the microservice.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thetriggering event is receipt of one or more requests from the enddevices, an absence of receipt of one or more requests from the enddevices, or expiration of a periodic time window.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the virtual network device includes one or multiplecontainers or one or multiple virtual machines.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the management information further includes at least one ofthreshold load balancing information, threshold security information,threshold health information, or threshold performance information, andthe method further comprising: obtaining, by the network device from oneor more other network devices of the application service layer network,at least one of load balance information, security information, healthinformation, or performance information pertaining to the virtualnetwork device; comparing, by the network device, the managementinformation to the at least one of load balance information, securityinformation, health information, or performance information pertainingto the virtual network device; and determining, by the network device,whether the at least one of load balance information, securityinformation, health information, or performance information pertainingto the virtual network device satisfies the management information. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating, by the networkdevice, a request to terminate the virtual network device; transmitting,by the network device to an other network device, the request; andreceiving, by the network device from the other network device, aresponse indicating to terminate the virtual network device.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the application service layer network is amulti-access edge computing network, and the other network deviceincludes an orchestrator.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:instantiating, by the network device before or after the terminating,the virtual network device that provides the at least one of theapplication service or the microservice based on radio networkinformation pertaining to at least one of the end devices.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the application service layer network is amulti-access edge computing network, and the network device includes anedge controller for one or multiple host devices that provide the atleast one of the application service or the microservice.
 9. A networkdevice comprising: a communication interface; a memory, wherein thememory stores instructions; and a processor, wherein the processorexecutes the instructions to: store management information pertaining toa lifecycle for at least one of an application service or amicroservice, wherein the network device is included in an applicationservice layer network; identify a triggering event; compare, in responseto the identification, a number of requests from end devices for the atleast one of the application service or the microservice to a thresholdnumber of requests, wherein the management information includes thethreshold number of requests that pertain to new requests receivedduring a time window; determine, based on the comparison, whether thethreshold number of requests is satisfied; and terminate, in response toa determination that the threshold number of requests is not satisfied,a virtual network device that provides the at least one of theapplication service or the microservice.
 10. The network device of claim9, wherein the triggering event is receipt of one or more requests fromthe end devices, an absence of receipt of one or more requests from theend devices, or expiration of a periodic time window.
 11. The networkdevice of claim 9, wherein the virtual network device includes one ormultiple containers or one or multiple virtual machines.
 12. The networkdevice of claim 9, wherein the management information further includesat least one of threshold load balancing information, threshold securityinformation, threshold health information, or threshold performanceinformation, and wherein the processor further executes the instructionsto: obtain, via the communication interface from one or more othernetwork devices of the application service layer network, at least oneof load balance information, security information, health information,or performance information pertaining to the virtual network device;compare the management information to the at least one of load balanceinformation, security information, health information, or performanceinformation pertaining to the virtual network device; and determinewhether the at least one of load balance information, securityinformation, health information, or performance information pertainingto the virtual network device satisfies the management information. 13.The network device of claim 9, wherein the processor further executesthe instructions to: generate a request to terminate the virtual networkdevice; transmit, via the communication interface to an other networkdevice, the request; and receive, via the communication interface fromthe other network device, a response indicating to terminate the virtualnetwork device.
 14. The network device of claim 13, wherein theapplication service layer network is a multi-access edge computingnetwork, and the other network device includes an orchestrator.
 15. Thenetwork device of claim 9, wherein the processor further executes theinstructions to: instantiate, before or after the termination, thevirtual network device that provides the at least one of the applicationservice or the microservice based on radio network informationpertaining to at least one of the end devices.
 16. The network device ofclaim 9, wherein the application service layer network is a multi-accessedge computing network, and the network device includes an edgecontroller for one or multiple host devices that provide the at leastone of the application service or the microservice.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing instructions executable by aprocessor of a device, which when executed cause the device to: storemanagement information pertaining to a lifecycle for at least one of anapplication service or a microservice, wherein the device is included inan application service layer network; identify a triggering event;compare, in response to the identification, a number of requests fromend devices for the at least one of the application service or themicroservice to a threshold number of requests, wherein the managementinformation includes the threshold number of requests that pertain tonew requests received during a time window; determine, based on thecomparison, whether the threshold number of requests is satisfied; andterminate, in response to a determination that the threshold number ofrequests is not satisfied, a virtual network device that provides the atleast one of the application service or the microservice.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein thetriggering event is receipt of one or more requests from the enddevices, an absence of receipt of one or more requests from the enddevices, or expiration of a periodic time window.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the managementinformation further includes at least one of threshold load balancinginformation, threshold security information, threshold healthinformation, or threshold performance information, and wherein theinstructions further comprise instructions, which when executed causethe device to: obtain, from one or more network devices of theapplication service layer network, at least one of load balanceinformation, security information, health information, or performanceinformation pertaining to the virtual network device; compare themanagement information to the at least one of load balance information,security information, health information, or performance informationpertaining to the virtual network device; and determine whether the atleast one of load balance information, security information, healthinformation, or performance information pertaining to the virtualnetwork device satisfies the management information.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein theapplication service layer network is a multi-access edge computingnetwork, and the device includes an edge controller for one or multiplehost devices that provide the at least one of the application service orthe microservice.